 
- Enlighten Me! Cavern
The Gospel Writers
Luke
Jesus as the Great
Physician
- When
you see this cross, it is a suggested stopping place.
- Each
Gospel lesson will have five
crosses and can be used as one
week of studies!
- Stop
and reflect
 A new beginning.
The Gospel
-
- Inclusion
- Jew and Gentile
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- Luke 19:10 For
the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
-
- The gospel of Luke, written
to instruct the Gentiles to the ministry and the ways of Jesus
Christ, assures them of God's redemptive plan for them. Luke's
gospel is a message of joy and inclusion, as he is the only Gentile
to have written a book of the Bible. When Jesus went to the grave
and was resurrected, the Day's of Grace began. It is a time of
inclusion for all men into God's kingdom. Jesus came to His own,
the Jewish nation, and they rejected Him. They did not expect
their long awaited Messiah, Savior and King to come in such a
fashion. There is no greater good ever given by God than the
salvation of all who will come by faith to Jesus.
-
- Galatians 3:14 He redeemed
us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to
the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might
receive the promise of the Spirit.
-
- Luke's joy is in knowing
salvation had come to all men. Jesus came as a vision of God.
He came to save a lost world, and give eternal life in heaven
to all who would come to Him in simple believing faith.
-
- Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed
of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation
of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
-
- God searched for a man of
faith and found one upon whom he made a covenant. Abraham would
begin a generation of people whom God would reveal Himself to,
protect and prosper as His children. God made a covenant promise
with him and the generations to follow. God was faithful to Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob and to the people of Israel. A covenant promise
is an "I will" and "you will" proposition.
Israel continually broke it's part of the covenant as they turned
their back on God. He would cause them to repent and return to
Him receiving His forgiveness and mercy time after time. God
is always faithful and He made a new covenant with all men for
all time.
-
- Romans 10:12-13 For there
is no difference between Jew and Gentile - the same Lord is Lord
of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone
who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
-
- 1Peter 2:9 But you are
a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who
called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
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-
Son of Man
descendant of Abraham
Matthew's gospel traced the
lineage of Jesus from Father Abraham, through David and then
to Mary and Jesus, announcing the fulfillment of the promises
of God. Abraham would be the father of many nations and Israel's
Messiah came from the house of David. Jesus came to us, fully
God and fully man to fill all of the first covenant promise and
then some! Luke uses the "Son of Man" as Jesus' favorite
reference to Himself. Jesus refers to Himself as He comes to
us in the book of Daniel. Daniel had many visions for the end
times.
Dan. 7:13 "In my vision
at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of
man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient
of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority,
glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every
language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never
be destroyed."
The use of this name also kept the full
knowledge of what God was doing from being revealed. In order
for God's divine redemption plan to be complete, Jesus must fulfill
all the prophecies written about Him in the Old Testament. If
He had revealed Himself as the Messiah to quickly, Herod would
have had Him killed as an enemy. He was first thought to be a
prophet from God. When God spoke to Ezekiel, the prophet, He
referred to Him as, "son of man." This phrase was not
new to the Jewish people. They followed Him as a great prophet
but would not receive Him as their Lord.
Luke 9:45 But they did
not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that
they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about
it.
Luke 10:21 At that time
Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise
you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden
these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to
little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
Son of God
descendant of Adam
- Conceived of the
Holy Spirit
- Luke 2:11 Today
in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;
- he is Christ the
Lord.
-
- Luke pays special attention to details
throughout his gospel. Jesus came to us as a baby.
- Luke traces the lineage of Jesus as the
son of, as it was thought, Joseph back to Adam.
- In order to keep His blood from being
contaminated with the sin of Adam, Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit, not from the seed of
man. Jesus did not sin and was given as
the only acceptable sacrifice for the sins of all mankind.
-
-
- Luke 1:35 The angel answered,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power
- of the Most High will
overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called
- the Son of God.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven to sit
at the right hand of the Father, these things were revealed to
His disciples.
Luke 24:44-47 "He
said to then, "This is what I told you while I was still
with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about
me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." Then
he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will
suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance
and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem.
As Jesus walked with two of His disciples
going to Emaus, after His resurrection from the dead, His identity
was hidden from them as well. He stayed and ate with them and
spoke to them explaining all that was said in the Scriptures
concerning Himself. It was not until He broke bread with them
their eyes were opened and they recognized him.
Luke 24:25-26 He said to
them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe
all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to
suffer these things and then enter his glory?
John 1:1 In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 The Word became
flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory,
the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full
of grace and truth.
- God's Son
became a human person and lived with us for awhile. He experienced,
heart
- break, pain,
sadness, joy and happiness. He came in the flesh so He would
know exactly
- how it feels
to be you! Our redemption is not only for our life in heaven.
Jesus came giving
- us a more
abundant life and bringing His peace on earth. Luke wants to
make sure
- the Gentiles
receive this message in truth.
-
- Luke 1:68,77,79 "Praise
be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and
- has redeemed his people....to
give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness
of their sins...to shine on those living in darkness and in the
shadow of
- death, to guide our feet
into the path of peace."
Dr. Jesus - The Anointed
One
After being baptized by John,
while Jesus was praying, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him.
It was by the miracle anointing power of the Holy Spirit that
Jesus was able to carry out His ministry. It was by His power
the lame were made to walk, the blind to see and the leper to
become whole and clean again. Jesus is the "Anointed One"
from God. He gave that anointing to eleven of His disciples who
would be known as Apostles. And again to the Seventy two whom
He sent ahead to prepare the way. They too began to heal the
sick and cast out demons in Jesus name. Jesus depended upon the
Holy Spirit as an example to show us how we should live.
Luke 3:21 When all the
people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he
was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended
on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven:
"You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
Luke 10:1 After this the
Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead
of him to every town and place where he was about to go.
Luke 10:16-17 "He
who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects
me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me." The
seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the
demons submit to us in your name."
The gospel of Luke was also
written to declare Jesus as the Great Physician. He healed those
who were sick in body and spirit. Much emphasis is given on the
compassionate characteristics of Jesus. Luke gives us a clearer
more detailed look at the miracles Jesus brought to those who
followed him. They believed in His power and that He was sent
from God. He cast out demons and even brought to dead back to
life.
Luke 9:6 So they set out
and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing
people everywhere.
Luke 4:40 When the sun
was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various
kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed
them.
Luke also shows us Jesus'
example of prayer. He takes us into the spiritual heart of Jesus
as He prays to God the Father often.
Luke 5:16
But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Luke 6:12
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and
spent the night praying to God.
Luke 18:1
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they
should always pray and not give up.
Luke 22:41
He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and
prayed,
Luke 22:44
And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat
was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
We need to remember that God
is perfectly holy. Prayer keeps us understanding that we are
totally dependent upon God to meet our needs. We need prayer
to ask for forgiveness and be purified through the blood of Jesus.
Jesus' prayer life was based on His love for God the Father.
It was based on a personal, passionate love with God. He wants
that same love relationship with us.
Luke 10:22
"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one
knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who
the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses
to reveal him."
John 14:21 Whoever has
my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who
loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him
and show myself to him."
-
-
- The Writer
Although he does not name
himself, there is little doubt that Luke wrote this gospel. He
was a Doctor, and a Gentile convert to Christianity. He was a
companion to the Apostle Paul on parts of at least three of His
missionary journeys. He was close to the action and had perfect
understanding from the first, and wanted to discount the defective
and inaccurate narratives that had begun to surface.
Luke 1:3 Therefore, since
I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning,
it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you,
most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty
of the things you have been taught.
Luke was a great historian
and eloquent writer of the Greek language. He researched the
beginning of the life of Christ, the miracles and the teachings
of Jesus during His ministry. He conducted an intensive study
on the accounts of His crucifixion and resurrection.
His gospel reveals his devotion
to giving a full and authentic narrative of the life, doctrines,
miracles, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Luke's faithfulness was recorded
by Paul in 2 Timothy, and he speaks of him as a dear friend in
Colossians. We know he was close to the apostles as a fellow
worker for the cause of Christ.
Colossians 4:14 Our dear
friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings.
2Timothy 4:11 Only Luke
is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful
to me in my ministry.
Philemon 1:24 And so do
Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.
Luke's pen also wrote the
book of Acts. You can come to the end of Luke's gospel and continue
on to the book of Acts, also know as the Acts of the Apostles.
Luke is the longest of the gospels and together with the book
of acts, it comprises more that one fourth of the New Testament.
Don't forget to go back now and
read the Gospel of Luke.
Gramma Cherbear
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